Posted by Robert Archer in Questions for candidates - procedures and authority

Posted by Daniel Lerner in Questions for candidates - procedures and authority

Posted by Robert Archer in Questions for candidates - procedures and authority
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

Scenario 2 (Rob - please answer this question first; other candidates can answer after Rob):

One of your FComms has been having a lot of issues with one of their COs. They PM you on Discord one evening to say they have fired the CO, removed the CO from the ship’s roster, and appointed the ship’s XO as aCO. They tell you they will start looking for a candidate as soon as you post the edict confirming the CO’s removal. The CO then sends a complaint about the removal.

What is your role as President in this situation? Is there a correct procedure that covers this situation, and if so, what is it?

As per FCOMM (https://www.star-fleet.com/library/bookshelf/charters/charter-fleets.html) an fcomm can only remove a CO after agreement with the Prez and stated by edict. Before confirming such an agreement and edict i would do some checking on why the Fcomm wants to remove them and also get the CO’s side of things of why the health of the ship is falling as a result of said issue. From there I would likely take agreement of my Fcomm since rarely is it some petty dispute that brought this up.

<snip>

Robert Archer

Follow up question:

Other than what was stated above in your answer, Rob, do you have any other concerns with the procedure proposed by the FComm?

-Daniel

Not off hand, though I would assume that the FComm beforehand had taken necessary steps to fix things with the CO in question and not just dumped them when things got minorly out of place. The only other step I would take once a CO was at this point would be trying to get their side of things, and if it then still required their removal I would explain to them personally why this came about, and where possible encourage fixes for another attempt for them being a CO down the line.

Robert Archer

So in the scenario I gave, there are two procedural problems: one with what the FComm did, and one with what the FComm was proposing - both of which the President would need to address.

Rob, can you please comment on the following two points that came up in my scenario:

1) “They PM you on Discord one evening to say they have fired the CO, removed the CO from the ship’s roster, and appointed the ship’s XO as aCO.” Is there a procedural problem with what the FComm told you they did?

I’ll be honest I’m a little unsure but I think part of it is they didnt give a reason on the firing and/or go through me before the firing

It is really the latter. In the answer you gave, you addressed finding out the reasons why the FComm removing the CO, and that you would need to agree with the decision prior to posting an edict (more on that later). However, the fact remains that the bylaw is clear that a CO cannot be removed without the President’s consent and your FComm removed the CO from the position prior to you giving your consent. I would think any President would have a significant issue with what the FComm did in my hypothetical scenario…

2) “They tell you they will start looking for a candidate as soon as you post the edict confirming the CO’s removal.” Is there a problem in the procedure proposed by the FComm?

-Daniel

Again I think this comes down to not addressing the issue with me first. Usually when I am unsure of minute details I reach out for help I know as president we should know alot of these things but minute details I often struggle with in memory retention.

Robert Archer

I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised on this one, Rob. This very specifically came up during your last term as President… In any event, the FComm is proposing that they will start looking for a new CO once you have posted an edict confirming the removal (which to some extent goes with the other problem that your FComm presented you with a fait acompli). The bylaw you provision you previously quoted has a follow-up sentence. Specifically, a CO’s removal is not made official until the Presidential Edict naming the replacement. While this may seem like a nit-picking procedural detail, I raise this because (a) you read the bylaw to answer the question but missed the very next sentence, (b) we know from experience that not following this procedure can lead to hurt feelings and problems in Command, and (c) you specifically had to address what happens when this procedure isn’t followed during your presidency. Naming and replacing COs is one of the most common acts a President has to do during their term, so it should be the procedure more candidates should be familiar with…

I do have a follow-up question, but I’ll leave that for another day in a different thread.

-Daniel